Austin PD defends action to detain man, granddaughter

Austin police are defending their decision to detain a man and his 5-year-old granddaughter last weekend in a case that has attracted national media attention, The Austin-American Statesman reported.

Scott Henson wrote on his blog “Grits For Breakfast” that he was handcuffed and detained by Austin police while walking his 5-year-old granddaughter in East Austin. Henson is white, and his granddaughter is black.

Austin police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Hipolito told the newspaper that police were responding to a 911 call about a possible kidnapping, which he said was the reason for the big response.

“On that type of call, we send everyone available,” he said.

In his blog, Henson questioned the need for such a response and wondered about how his granddaughter might be affected by the interaction with police.

“I didn’t resist or struggle, but they felt obliged to handcuff me and snatch the kid up for interrogation away from any adult family member.

”Nine police cars plus the deputy constable all showing up to investigate the heinous crime of ‘babysitting while white,'” he wrote.

The blog post spread over the weekend on Facebook and other social media outlets and received attention this week from newspapers in New York and London, The Austin-American Statesman reported.